By Steven Horne
When most people think of health foods, they don’t think of chocolate. In fact, when I first got into natural healing, chocolate was “bad” in natural health circles. You were supposed to eat carob instead. Many people in natural health circles still think carob is healthier than chocolate.
I could never understand this point of view, because I think cocoa is a great herb. For one thing, the Latin name, Theobroma, means “food of the Gods” in reference to how the ancient Aztecs viewed chocolate. It was a food reserved for nobility.
Contrast this with carob, which is a legume (bean) from the Middle East. Also known as locust bean, carob may be the “locust” that John the Baptist ate in the wilderness. (Carob was commonly thought of as a pig food and most Jewish people of the time would not eat it.) In the parable of the prodigal son, the wayward son was reduced to eating carob pods to stay alive, showing his incredibly impoverished and humiliated state.
So, carob is a humble “pig food” and cocoa is the “food of the Gods.” I’ve always preferred the food of the Gods and it appears that my biased attitudes on cocoa are finally being vindicated. Research shows chocolate can be good for you.
For starters, it has one of the highest levels of antioxidants of any food. It contains phenols, the same antioxidants found in red wine. These phenols are known to help prevent plaque formation in arteries by inhibiting the oxidation of cholesterol. The darker the chocolate, the more phenols it contains.
Natural cocoa is high in fat, cocoa butter to be exact. I’ve also liked cocoa butter and have found it to be a great ingredient in homemade salves because it is so softening to the skin. Cocoa butter is high in saturated fat, but it is also one third oleic acid, the monounsaturated fat found in olive oil. And don’t forget, some saturated fat is good for you and with the antioxidants to protect it from going rancid, the fat in chocolate is a healthy choice.
One of the arguments I’ve heard against chocolate is that it contains caffeine. This is true, but the amount of caffeine is very small, about 1/10 of that found in a cup of coffee. And, unlike coffee, chocolate actually helps lower your blood pressure.
Chocolate is also high in iron and magnesium. I have long noted that women who crave chocolate before their period tend to be deficient in magnesium, a mineral which helps reduce the symptoms of PMS. The iron also helps the anemia associated with menstrual blood loss.
But we don’t crave chocolate because of its health properties. We crave it because it contains chemicals that help us “feel good.” Cocoa affects neurotransmitters like dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins, and produces a feeling similar to “falling in love.” This is probably why chocolates are such a popular present for Valentine’s Day. One of the chemicals in cocoa responsible for this effect is phenylethylamine, which is also present in strawberries. That makes chocolate covered strawberries a definite food of love! (Remember this, guys!)
I have a midwife friend who uses chocolate bars as a medicine to help deliver the placenta after birth. This is due to chocolate’s mild oxytocic effect. Oxytocin is a bonding hormone which helps us feel love and devotion in relationships.
Another compound in chocolate is anandamide, which targets the same receptors in the brain as the THC found in marijuana. This is also why chocolate is mildly addictive.
One study I ran into showed that people who ate a little candy (especially chocolate) about once a week, had longer life expectancies than those who ate no candy at all. Of course, if people ate a lot of candy, their life expectancy went down.
The bottom line is that indulging in a little chocolate treat now and then is actually good for you. Fortunately, NSP has some chocolate bars sweetened with xylitol, a good option for those of us who need our chocolate “fix” now and then.
Selected References
- http://www.ynhh.org/online/nutrition/advisor/chocolate.html
- http://www.athenapub.com/chocolat.htm
- http://www.willystreet.coop/Newsletter/Newsletter_Archive/0512/midwife.html